What will Hatton's legacy be?

[donnydarkoIRL]

Hatton will and should be remebered as an immensely popoular fighter that fought with spirit and aggression.

His ranking is yet to be affirmed, but it is true to say that he may be bordering on great in terms of the light welter division, perhaps as a result of lack of competition, Duran, Chavez, Hatton and Tszyu have very view acclaimed fighters rivalling them in this division.

He's a damn good fighter, my favourite.

[Mr140]

I think Welfred Benitez is the greatest LWW i think he boxed all the top guys ears off i do not think he gets enough credit he should get more.

[Thread Stealer]

Top 5 junior welterweight ever?

I don't know about that.

Julio Cesar Chavez, Aaron Pryor, Kostya Tszyu, Antonio Cervantes, Nicolino Locche

Then you have guys like Duilio Loi and Carlos Ortiz who campaigned at both lightweight and junior welterweight. Other, more talented and skilled fighters like Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya, campaigned too short at junior welterweight so I don't think either rank highly at 140 all-time.

Hatton's win over Tszyu was very good. Tszyu may have been aging but he was still highly regarded and coming off of a very impressive win a few months earlier. Hatton had some other solid wins over guys like Jose Luis Castillo, Carlos Maussa, and Juan Urango in title fights. His resume on the way to the title is often criticized. He beat a solid of veterans and solid pros, just no real world-class, top of the line junior welters around that time.

Even if he doesn't beat Paul Malignaggi, I think Hatton will still get into the Hall of Fame. You can debate all day on if he deserves to, but let's not forget it is the Hall of FAME, not Hall of All-Time Greats.

[Mr140]

Thread Stealer you do not think that Benitez belongs up there. Youngest champion at the weight and he beat some good names. Pluse if were going off skill to i pick him to beat any of the names you listed also i pick him big time over Hatton i think he give him a boxing lesson if they fought.

[Thread Stealer]

Thread Stealer you do not think that Benitez belongs up there. Youngest champion at the weight and he beat some good names. Pluse if were going off skill to i pick him to beat any of the names you listed also i pick him big time over Hatton i think he give him a boxing lesson if they fought.

I'm not too sure about Benitez's standing in each weight. It seems like didn't spent too much time in one weight division. 3 defenses at 140, 2 at 147, 2 at 154. His win over Cervantes was very good, but I'm not too sure about his all-time standing in each division.

Yeah, El Radar wins a clear decision over Hatton IMO.

[Mr140]

Guess what i was saying is i think skill wise he was at the top.

[kingfrnk]

i think ricky hatton might be good enough to be a top 5 lww although im not sure yet i have to look at some other fighters before i decide but as of now i got him at 5

[HOMETOWN CHAMP]

Id go ahead and say that he might crack the top 10 but i dont think he gets in the top 5

[Trainer Monkey]

Impassable to say right now, we'll see when the roads run.
Right now he's an "almost"
But he could still change that

[THE THIRD MAN]

Gotta give credit where credit is due, if he beats the Magic Man (which he should). He will be the best 140 lber of this era. I honestly think he will be obscure to casual American boxing fans in 5 years time, but will be remembered fondly by a majority of Mancunians and by far and large most casual boxing fans in the UK. Overall in the scheme of things at 140 a very good case could be made for having him at 3rd or 4th.

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

[CGM]

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

My point is that the guys I mentioned would beat Hatton at LWW, not how long they stuck around. By the "how long they stuck around" criteria, a guy like Ray Leonard barely rates as an all time WW. IF guys like de la Hoya and PBF stuck around at LWW it would be a different story for sure. The way the top of the line guys (unlike ykw) move through the divisions, it kind of makes an all time LWW ranking pretty meaningless. cheers

[Thread Stealer]

Well put, if he unifies at 140lb in 2009 then i have him 4th behind Pryor, Tszyu and Chavez. What worries me is his size, did you see him at ringside next to DLH at the Marquez V Casamayor fight? Looked like he cleaned house at McDonalds!! He must have been close to 160lb

#4? Really? Here's a few other guys who won titles at LWW that you may wish to consider. You could argue that any one of this bunch could have more than held their own against Hatton at 140. Depends how you evaluate them I guess.

Oscar de la Hoya
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Pernell Whitaker
Wilfred Benitez
Antonio Cervantes

Yep, i considered them but i have reasons for not including them in the top 5, both DLH and Mayweather were never around long enough at 140lb to make their mark in this division. Pryor cleaned up Cervantes and i see no reason why both Chavez and Tszyu wouldn't do the same. Whitaker was an all time great Lightweeight Champion but would have been hard pressed to beat Pryor and Tszyu. The draw against Chavez was a travesty of justice i'll admit that. Benitez has the best case going for him out of the lot and yes i would place him ahead of Hatton. Sorry about that.

There's no shame at getting stopped by Pryor at the end of your career, or even losing a decision to a young Benitez. Cervantes stayed around a long time at 140, and was a long-time champ.

[Plopeater]

Hatton like most ex Warren fighters stayed in GB and fought to many poor fighters in his early title fights, plus he had the WBU belt, wtf

[leggy]

BUT.. this next fight is a key fight... if he loses he will be forgotten pretty quickly, and if he wins its all down to what he does from there.
)

i dont think he will be forgot in a hurry especially not in england

[Kev]

I guess it depends whose history you are talking about.

Outside of the UK he won't have a great deal of longterm historical signficance but within the UK he will be remembered as one of the best, and most popular British boxers of alltime.

As to his place in a mythical all time ranking, it's irrelevent.

I've never heard anyone rate any British fighters in such a way with the exception of Lewis and maybe in the future Calzaghe.

Our most fondly remembered fighters are the likes of Benn, Eubank, Bruno, Henry Cooper etc, and when mentioned in the British media their all time ranking in their respective divisions is never brought up, debated or even mentioned.

We just remember them for being great fighters, being involved in great fights, and creating some of the best British boxing memories.

Being a great and popular former fighter is more about that warm nostalgic feeling and fond rememberence than alltime p4p ratings.

Only those fighters close the the top 10 or so of all time get their records heavily analysed and scrutinied and their objective worth quantified.

For the rest we just remember them and thank them for them memories they gave us, which perhaps is the way it should be.